Half a million Iraqis flee ISIS takeover

As many as 500,000 Iraqis were fleeing the city of Mosul and surrounding areas yesterday, as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS) insurgents took over Iraq’s second largest city.

Caught between the threat of well-known atrocities committed at the hands of ISIS and brutality from Iraqi forces, more than half a million people were attempting to escape on Thursday while thousands of others remained trapped. Meanwhile, ISIS continues to advance towards Baghdad.

ISIS took control of Mosul last week, a city which had been in the control of Iraqi military with support from the US.

The Jihadist militant group, along with its precursor al Qaeda in Iraq, have been operating well outside the law for many years in Mosul. Human Rights watch has documented atrocities including suicide bomb attacks, killing with impunity, torture in detention, executions, discrimination against women and the destruction of religious property. Human Rights Watch says they believe ISIS’s crimes may amount to crimes against humanity.